The custom of sending Valentines is hundreds of years old. The earliest known Valentine was sent in Norfolk in 1477, in the form of a letter from Margery Brews to John Paston, whom she described as ‘my right well beloved Valentine’.

Printed Valentines began toappear in the late eighteenth century. With the improvement in postal services and printing methods in the nineteenth century, Valentine’s Day was celebrated as never before.

By the 1830s, Valentines were sent in such great numbers that postmen were given a special allowance for refreshments to help them through the extraordinary exertions of the two or three days leading up to February 14th.